UPCOMING SCHEDULE
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13
Tennessee Wesleyan at
Tennessee Tech - 11 a.m.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14
UT Martin at South Dakota - 5:30 p.m. (Midco Sports)
Hannibal-LaGrange at Lindenwood - 7 p.m.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15
Tennessee State at No. 19 Baylor - 11 a.m. (ESPN+)
Little Rock at Alabama - 6 p.m. (SEC Network)
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17
SIUE at Northern Illinois - 12 p.m.
Southern Indiana at Wright State - 12 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tennessee Tech at ULM - 4 p.m.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18
Arkansas State at
Little Rock - 1 p.m. (ESPN+)
Morehead State at Indiana - 1 p.m. (Big Ten Network+)
Southeast Missouri at Evansville - 1 p.m.
Southern Indiana at Cincinnati - 1 p.m. (ESPN+)
Central Michigan at
Eastern Illinois - 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
MONDAY, DECEMBER 19
SIUE vs. Liberty (@Seattle, Wash.) - 2 p.m.
Lindenwood vs. Cleveland State (@Las Vegas, Nev.) - 5:30 p.m.
All Times Central
THIS WEEK'S OVC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
PLAYER
Meredith Raley, F • Jr., 6-0 • Haubstadt, Indiana • Southern Indiana
Raley led USI with 11 points and a career-best five assists last Wednesday in a close battle against Butler out of the Big East Conference. Raley recorded her second career double-double with a big day in USI’s win on Saturday at Eastern Michigan. Raley scored 17 points and pulled 16 rebounds with six on the offensive glass.Raley's 16 rebounds on Saturday marked the first time a Screaming Eagle has pulled down 15 or more rebounds in a game since Kacy Eschweiler grabbed 22 rebounds against Ferris State University on November 16, 2018. Raley has reached double-digits in points in each game this season.
Others Nominated: Lariah Washington, Eastern Illinois; Sofie Lowis, SIUE; Erica Haynes-Overton, Tennessee State; Maaliya Owens, Tennessee Tech
NEWCOMER
Erica Haynes-Overton, G • Sr., 5-6 • Nashville, Tenn. • Tennessee State
Haynes-Overton recorded 17.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game last week. Against Southern Illinois, she had 12 points and four rebounds. Haynes-Overton followed that up with 22 points, four boards, three assists and five steals versus Stetson. For the week, she shot 59.1 percent from the floor and 80.0 percent from beyond the arc.
Others Nominated: Macy McGlone, Eastern Illinois; Jaiyah Harris-Smith, Little Rock; Kiera Hill, Tennessee Tech
FRESHMAN
Faith Lee, F, • Fr., 5-11 • Monroe, La. • Little Rock
Lee shot nearly 59% from the field last week as Little Rock toppled an SEC team for the third straight year. Averaging 10 points per game, the true freshman’s 58.8% shooting mark was the fourth-best in the OVC last week. She averaged 3.0 rebounds a game and led the Trojans at Western Kentucky Sunday afternoon with 12 points.
Alecia Doyle, G, • Fr., 5-8 • Herrin, Ill.• Southeast Missouri
Doyle scored her career high with 17 points on Wednesday, Dec. 7, versus Western Illinois in Southeast Missouri’s fourth win of the season. Doyle led the team in points for the first time all season and scored in double figures for the first time in the 2022-23 campaign.
Others Nominated: Reghan Grimes, Tennessee Tech
Other Notable Performances
• Lariah Washington (G, Sr.), Eastern Illinois - Averaged 19.0 points and 4.0 assists per game last week. She shot 48.1 percent from the field and 84.6 percent from the line.
• Sofie Lowis (G, So.), SIUE - Led the Cougars in scoring in both games, averaging 15.0 points for the week. She had a career-high seven rebounds in the game against Western Illinois.
• Maaliya Owens (G, Sr.), Tennessee Tech - Recorded 16 points, two rebounds, six assists and one steal in the win over Alabama A&M. She shot 60 percent from the floor in the victory.
• Macy McGlone (F, So.), Eastern Illinois - Averaged 9.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last week. She also had two assists and four steals over the two games.
NOTES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE
OVC Overview: Eastern Illinois' Lariah Washington averaged 19.0 points over the Panthers two games last week....Southern Indiana's Meredith Raley has scored in double-digits in every game this season and continued her streak last week as she averaged 14.0 points each time out..Little Rock defeated Texas A&M last week, marking the third straight year the Trojans have beaten an SEC team. In the span of three days last week, OVC teams posted a pair of wins over the SEC...UT Martin defeated Vanderbilt on Dec. 4 followed by Little Rock's victory over Texas A&M on Dec. 6...Southeast Missouri's Alecia Doyle scored a season-high 17 points in the win over Alabama A&M....Eastern Illinois ranks 28th in the NCAA in assist/turnover ratio (1.21) while UT Martin is 13th in the nation in free throw percentage (79.3%)...Tennessee State is 17th in steals per game with 12.2 while Morehead State is 20th with 12.0 each time out...TSU is also 13th in turnovers forced with 23.33 per game....EIU's Lariah Washington ranks 24th in the NCAA with 19.9 points per game. Morehead State's Veronica Charles lead the nation with 4.22 steals per game while ranking fourth in total steals (38).
OVC on ESPN+: For the fifth year, the Ohio Valley Conference will have a minimum of 600 conference events on ESPN+. ESPN+ is an integrated part of the completely redesigned ESPN App. Already the leading sports app, the new ESPN App is the premier all-in-one digital sports platform for fans across mobile and tv-connected devices. ESPN+ is also available through ESPN.com.
Coaching Experience: UT Martin's Kevin McMillan is the longest tenured coach in the OVC as he enters his 14th season at the helm of the Skyhawks. He currently ranks third in OVC history with 252 wins and first among active coaches. He has had eight 20-win seasons at UT Martin and has made the conference tournament in each of his 13 years.
2021-22 in Review: Belmont earned the 2021-22 OVC regular season title and the OVC Tournament crown. The Bruins earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament while Tennessee Tech earned the WNIT automatic bid. Murray State earned was an at-large selection to the WNIT and Austin Peay was picked for the WBI. Belmont defeated Oregon in double overtime in the first round before falling to Tennessee in the second round. Tennessee Tech defeated SMU in the first round of the WNIT before falling to Houston in the second round. Murray State fell to Vanderbilt in the first round of the WNIT while Austin Peay went 1-2 in the WBI. Belmont's Bart Brooks was named OVC Coach of the Year while the Bruins Tuti Jones earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. Murray State's Katelyn Young was named the Player of the Year and Tennessee State's Gia Adams earned Freshman of the Year honors.
OVC Championship Returns to Evansville: The Ohio Valley Conference returns to the Ford Center in Evansville for the sixth-straight year. The 2023 OVC Basketball Championships will be held March 1-4.
Regular Season Champions: With Belmont earning the regular-season crown last year, 10 different teams have won a regular-season crown. Little Rock, Lindenwood, Morehead State, SIUE and Southern Indiana are the only current members that have not won a regular-season title.
OVC on ESPNU: The OVC will have one women's games air on ESPNU on Feb. 23. The matchup will be decided two weeks prior to the air date.
New Faces: The OVC will welcome three new members this season in Lindenwood, Little Rock and Southern Indiana. The Lions' Katie Falco is entering her fifth year at the helm of Lindenwood while Little Rock's Joe Foley will begin his 20th season as the head coach. Rick Stein enters his 24th year at the helm of the Screaming Eagles.
Let the Season Begin: The 2022-23 regular season begins on Nov. 7 with Conference play beginning on Dec. 29. The OVC Championship will take place March 1-4 in Evansville, Indiana.